― Alexander Pope
Sewing machines hate me.
It's not that they don't enjoy my company... like the random person who happens to be somewhere in your social circle, but whom you try to avoid actually spending one on one time with, because you can never seem to figure out what to talk about.
No they hate me.
Harm themselves to get out of spending time with me
As in, if you walked into a restaurant and saw your worst enemy sitting next to your best friend, you would throw yourself onto the nearest open flame just to spend time in the burn unit instead of with this person.
At first I thought it was just my mother's machine.
I was convinced it was just old. And needed my mother's years of experience to understand it's quirks.
The bobbin spits back out at me.
The thread snarls up.
Then I snarl up a bit.
And eventually my mother just comes over and fixes what ever I just screwed up.
Honestly, the last time I asked her opinion on how to sew something she just took it from me and did it herself.
Her exact words were "No it's faster if I just do it, if I let you touch it, you'll just screw it up"
It was said with love. And it was the truth.
I decided last year, that now that I'm a real live grown up (with a baby of my own to prove my legit-ness in the grown-up department) it was time to buy my own sewing machine. One that came out of the factory at least a decade or two after I came out of the womb.
One that would work magically, would never tangle a thread, or pop a spool, or eat my shorts (or fabric intended to become shorts). It would make all of my crafty dreams come true.
Dreamer that I am, I'm also a skinflint, and could never justify spending $200 on something I didn't really need (because no matter how much I want to blame the machine, I know in my heart of hearts, I don't actually have any sewing skills).
Then like the Fairy Godmother appeared to Cinderella. A beautiful Singer was dropped into my lap. Ready to make all of my sewing dreams come true.
Well it was given to me... nobody actually dropped it on me. But for all the good I've done with it, maybe they should have just thrown it at my head and knocked some sense into me.
I spent three months, on my last sewing project. It should have taken a normal person 2 hours.
Now please consider, that all sewing activities, no matter how much I may want to do them, have to come last on my list of priorities.
That list is not short these days.
First and foremost there is a cute little ball of energy that needs constant attention, feedings, diaper changes, and general guidance on the safety of climbing or chewing on anything he can get his hands on.
Then there is the dog... who as you may have noticed from previous posts, requires a fair bit of energy.
Add to that a business to run, a house to keep in some sort of order for fear someone call child services on me for only running my vacuum once a month, and on top of that, society actually expects me to keep up a certain level of personal hygiene.
Somedays I accomplish most of these things. Others I'm surprised that my Stronger Half finds us all still alive when he comes home from work.
Sewing comes last. (um or maybe blogging comes last, if my lack of new posts haven't made that clear).
But in the event that every other priority is either taken care of, or deemed reasonably non-life threatening to put off until tomorrow.... I haul out the machine and get cursing.
Tonight was one of those blessed nights.... I started a little project, and needed to sew eight simple lines to complete it. It was barely even worth dragging the machine out of the closet.
But like I said before.. fairy tale dreams of what I can do with this machine. I had come to the conclusion that all of my previous troubles were caused by dollar store materials.
My "out of the regular realm of sewing" type projects and my general lack of control when it comes to speed with a foot peda,l were also contenders in the "How the hell does she screw this up so much" mystery.
What ever the reason, I was willing to meet in the middle and take some of the responsibility for our past altercations. I needed to get on good terms with this machine, so we could go on to bring all of the magical fabric themed fantasies I have to life.
So armed with Coats and Clark thread. Three different sets of three different name brand needles, and a project with out crazy material like PUL. I decided to rekindle our broken relationship.
In response, the needle snapped clear off while I was threading the machine.
Not even while sewing or using the presser foot... simply turning the wheel to pull up the bobbin thread caused this.
That's the equivalent of a dog gnawing off his own foot when you say you want to take it for a walk.
So tonight I give up. I will pack away my threads and bobbins and three packages of new brand-name needles, and dreams of being a professional seamstress for another day. Tonight was a lesson, although I can't quite figure out which one it was.
"Don't quit your day job."
"Great expectations lead to great disappointment?"
Or, since I know I will forget the frustration of this evening, and like a herion addict returns to their dealer, I will haul the stupid machine out and try again someday.
"It is easier to forgive your enemy than your friend."
